Pad-stuffing machine.



A. E. MOGLAIN.

PAD STUFFING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24, 1912.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914 2 SHEBTSSHBET l.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. FHDTO-LITHQ. WASHINGTON, D. C.

A. E. McCLAIN.

PAD STUFPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.24, 1912.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 '4/0 abboweqf THE NORRIS PETERS c0. PHOTU'LITHQ, WASHING rON. D. c

UNITED srarns PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR E. MCGLAIN, OF GREENFIEL-D, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN PAD & TEXTILE COMPANY, OF GBEENFIELD, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PAD-STUFFING- MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR E. MCCLAIN, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Greenfield, county of Highland, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pad- Stuifmg Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to pad stufling machines and is an improvement on machines similar to those disclosed in the patent to Brownson et al. No. 976,982, of November 29, 1910.

An object of my invention is to produce a machine which will stuff a relatively long pad,such as a sweat pad for horses, from one end to the other in one continuous operation.

A further object is to produce a stufiing machine in which means are employed for varying the packing pressure during the stuiling operation and for thereby varying the degree of compactness of the padding material at points along the pad.

These and other objects I attain in a machine embodying the features herein illustrated and described.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this application Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine embodying my invention, the cover of a sweat pad being shown in place on the machine and being partially broken away for convenience of illustration. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a fragmental perspective view of a tubular conveyer, shown in connection with a fragment of a pad cover and means for holding the cover in the proper position relatively to the conveyer. Fig. is a fragmental perspective view of a plunger which forms a detail of the machine illustrated and is normally located within the tubular conveyer illustrated in Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively, elevations of the conveyer end. and the driving shaft end, of the machine illustrated. Fig. '7 is a view of a pad cover such as is adapted to be employed in making sweat pads for horses and of being stuffed with padding material by a machine embodying my invention.

The machine illustrated is adapted to completely fill the cover of a relatively long pad, with padding material in one continuous operation and without the necessity of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 24, 1912.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914. Serial No. 679,670.

disengagingthe cover from the machine after it has been half filled and of turn- 1ng it so that the remaining portion can be filled, as is the case with the machine illustrated in the Brownson patent, to which reference has been made. Such a procedure consumes time, but the principal objection to it is that it necessitates providing an aperture midway between the ends of the pad cover, into which the conveyer is inserted during the stuffing operation. It is diflicult to secure the edges of such an aperture together, after the pad is stuffed, and they must either be sewed by hand or by means of complicated and expensive machines. These difliculties are overcome in a machine embodying my invention since each machine is so arranged that the padding material is introduced into each pad cover through an opening formed in one end of the cover and means are provided for holding the pad cover in place so that it may be stufi'ed, from end to end, in one continuous operation. In addition to this my invention provides means for varying the packing pressure during the stufling operation so that the compactness of the padding material in the pad may be varied at points along the pad. I preferably decrease the packing pressure at a point midway between the ends of the cover or at the point of maximum curvature of the pad while it is in use, so'that a minimum amount of padding material will be located at that point and the pad may be readily bent to conform to the curvature of the horse collar.

The machine illustrated, is in some respects similar to the machine disclosed by the Brownson patent and includes a frame portion 8, a tubular conveyer 9, a hopper 10, which communicates with the conveyer 9, and a rotatable impeller 11 which conveys padding material, introduced into a conduit 12, with which the hopper is provided, through the hopper 10 and into the conveyer 9. A plunger 13 is located in the conveyer and is actuated by means of a crank disk 16, through the agency of a cross head 14 and a connecting rod 15. The disk 16 is mounted on a driving shaft 17 which is located at the opposite end of the machine from the conveyer. The plunger 13 and the conveyer 9 are similar to the plunger and conveyer of the Brownson patent and are provided with t'e'ethsimilarto those the scribed in the patent, and so arranged that they cooperate to move the packing material forward through the conveyer duringthe reciprocations of the plunger.

The hopper 10 and the impeller 11. are similar to those illustrated in the patent and the impeller is driven by means of a pulley 18, mounted on the driving shaft 17 through the agency of a belt 18. Any suitable means may be employed for transmitting power to the driving shaft of the machine, but 1 have illustrated a belt drive, similar to that disclosed in the patent, which consists of a loose and a fixed pulley, mounted on the driving shaft 17, and means for shifting a belt 19 from one pulley to the other, when it is de sired to start or stop the machine.

During the operation of stufling a pad, a pad cover P is inserted over the end of the conveyer 9 and is held in place so that it is capable of being moved relatively along the conveyer by the padding material as it is stuffed into place by the plunger. With my invention 1 provide an opening in one end of the pad cover to be stuffed, such as is illustrated at 21 in Fig. 7, and I then move the cover to position on the machine by in sorting the end of the conveyer through the opening- I have illustrated two sets of clamps for holding the cover in place over the conveyer during the stutling operation, which are so arranged that one set is effective, both in holding the cover in place and in controlling the packing pressure under which the padding material is introduced into the cover, during a portion of the stuffing operation and then the other set of clamps is rendered efiective in performing these functions after the first set has been rendered inoperative. The clamps 22 form one set and are normally adapted to engage the opposite sides of a cover to be packed at points about midway between its ends. The clamps 23 form the other set and are adapted to engage the opposite sides of a cover at points immediately adjacent to its open end.

Each clamp 22 is shown mounted on a rod 24:, which extends longitudinally of the machine and is mounted in ways, provided on the machine, through which itis capable of moving longitudinally, A weight 25, is suspended from the rear end of each rod 24L by means of a cord or similar member which extends over a pulley 26 mounted on the frame 8 of the machine. A spring 27 is provided for each clamp 22 and is so arranged that it normally holds the clamp in the clamping position. The movable jaw of each clamp is provided with a downwardly extending arm on which a laterally projecting extension 28 is mounted. Each projection is adapted to move the jaw to disengage the clamp from a pad cover, when it is moved into engages ment with a stop 30, during the stuffing operation, as will hereinafter be described.

Each clamp 23 is mounted on a rod 31 which extends longitudinally of the machine and is mounted in ways through which it is capable of moving longitudinally. A weight 32 is suspended from the rear end of each rod 31 by means of a cord, or similar suspending member, which extends over a pulley 33 mounted on the frame 8. The clamps 23 like the clamps 22, are provided with springs for normally holding them in the clamping position and the movable jaw of each clamp 23 is shown provided with an upwardly projecting inclined finger 23 which is easily accessible to the operator of the machine and which may be readily depressed to spread the jaws apart for the purpose of introducing a cover into the clamp or disengaging one from it.

The rods 24 and 31 are provided with stops which may be moved to different positions for the purpose of adjusting the normal positions of the clamps 22 and 2 3. In the drawings 1 have illustrated these stops as screw bolts or nuts 40 which are adapted to be screwed into apertures suitably spaced along the rods. The pull of the weight secured to each rod normally holds the rod so that the stop 40 mounted on it is held against an abutment 4.2 which also forms one of the ways for guiding the rods in their 7 motion.

The stops 40 are so located on the rods 24 that a cover P will be held fairly tight over the end of the conveyer when its edges are held, as above described, by the clamps 22.

The stops on the rods 31 are so adjusted that the cover P will not be held tight by the clamps 23 until after it is half filled with padding material and the clamps 22 have been disengaged from it. In other words, the clamps 23 are normally so located that they will not resist the forward motion of the cover, occasioned by the stuffing operation, until after the clamps 22 have been disengaged from the cover.

The operation of filling a cover is in some respects similar to that described in the Brownson patent. After the cover P is in place on the conveyer and the clamps 22 and 23 are adjusted, the driving belt 19 is shifted to the fixed pulley on the driving shaft 17 so that it reciprocates the plunger 13 through the agency of the connecting rod 15 and cross head 14; and drives the impeller 11 through the agency of the pulley 1S and the belt connection. The impeller delivers the padding material from the hopper to the conveyer 9, and the plunger 13 moves the padding material through the conveyer and packs it into the cover. As the cover is filled with the material it is moved along the conveyer by the plunger as it forces the material through the conveyer. This motion is, however, resisted by the weights 25, secured to the rods 24 and consequently the compression or packing pressure of the padding material in the cover is controlled by the weights, as is set forth in the Brownson patent.

The stops 30 are mounted on a bracket, secured to the frame 8 of the machine, so that they engage the extensions 28 formed on the downwardly projecting arms of the clamps 22, as the clamps 22 are moved forward by the cover. The stops are so located that they actuate the clamps to disengage them from the cover when the cover is substan tially half full of padding material. As soon as the clamps 22 are disengaged they are moved back to the normal position by means of their weights During the operation of stufiing the first half of a cover P the clamps 23 remain stationary and do not resist the forward motion of the front part of the cover, since the cover is loosely folded or is slack between them and the clamps 22 and, while the slack is gradually taken up as the clamps 22 move forward, the normal position of the clamps 23 is such, that the cover does not exert a pull on them until after the clamps 22 have been disengaged from the cover as has been described. The clamps 23 then resist the forward motion of the cover during the remainder of the stuffing operation and they therefore control the stutling pressure, that is, the degree of compactness of the padding material in the pad.

I have found it desirable to decrease the packing pressure, or the degree of compactness of the padding material within the c ver at a point about midway between the ends of the pad. 1 accomplish this by ad justing the position of the weights 32 so that they will not resist the forward motion of the clamps 23 until after the clamps have been moved forward a determined amount by the forward motion of the cover. The amount of this motion is determined by the amount of loose packing desirable in each pad.

In the machine illustrated I adjust the position of the weights by providing a rest, or support iefor the weights 32 which is capable of being secured in difierent positions along an upright 15, which forms a portion of the frame 8 of the machine. The support 4%, illustrated, is provided with bolts to or similar devices which extend through a slot provided in the upright and are capable of securing the support in different positions along the upright. With this arrangement the support 4.4 may be so adjusted that the rods 31 will be relieved of the pull of the weights until after the clamps have moved forward a sufficient amount to insure the desired amount of loose pack ing in the pad. The weights 32 are the same size as the weights 25 and consequently they will resist the forward motion of the cover P to the same extent as the weights 25 and the same packing pressure will therefore be obtained in each end of the pad. It will be understood that, if desired, diiferent sized weights may be employed to vary the packing pressure, that is, the degree of compactness of the padding material throughout the length of the pad, and that means other than weights may be employed for yieldingly restraining the forward motion of the clamps.

After the central portion of the cover has been stufied the further forward motion of the cover is resisted by the weights 32 as the rods 31 move forward. The stuffing operation is continued until the cover is completely filled with padding material at which time a stop 3%, carried by one of the rods 31 moves into contact with a releasing lever 35, similar to the release 43 shown in the Brownson patent, and thereby actuates a lever 36, which releases a finger 37, carried by a shaft 38 and permits the belt shifter fork 39 to move in response to the pull of a suspended weight 40 and to shift the belt 19 to the loose pulley. This stops the plunger and the impeller and consequently stops the delivery of padding material through the conveyer. The apparatus just described is similar in operation to the automatic belt shifting apparatus described in the above referred to patent and a further description of it is deemed unnecessary.

The stuffed cover may be released from the machine by depressing the upwardly projecting arms of the clamps 23. The edges of the apertures in the end of the pad cover can then be sewed together to complete the pad. This sewing operation is comparatively simple and can be quickly and cheaply performed with an ordinary sewing machine. 1V hen the clamps 23 are released they are drawn back to the normal or starting position by their weights 32 and the machine is ready to receive another cover Pto be stuffed.

The machine illustrated simplifies and cheapens the process of manufacturing pads and I wish it to be understood that while I have illustrated the preferred form of the machine and described its parts and the principles of its operations that various changes, modifications and substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

vi hat I claim is:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, conveyer, means for moving padding material through said conveyer, means arranged to engage a cover to be stuffed when said cover is in position on said conveyer and arranged to yieldingly restrain its motion along said conveyer during the stufi'ing operation, means arranged to disengage said engaging means from said cover after 5 and additional means anged to u said coyer aid a ranged to yieldingly re strain its motion relatively to said eonveyer after the V it mentioned means has been disengag from said cover.

2. in an apparatus of the character do sat-riled a conyeyer for delivering pad a material, clamps for engaging a pad r0 he stutl'cd, for holding it in posinected g the H011 YOl' illlG CODVQYCY, 11133115 (30H to the clamps for yieldino'ly restraii motion of the cover the conveyor, mean: 4,, ied by tie c amps daring their forward motion along the oonve}. 'er, for disengao ing the clamps from the cover, and additional clanms for engaging the cover, for holding it i iilaee relatively to the conreyer, and means connected to the additional. clamps for yioldingly res ,rairing mo tion of the cover relatively to the conreyer, after the disengagement of the first men tioned clamps.

in an apparatus of the character described, a eenyeyer, for delivering; stmi'ing an .i means for a pad cover to he st died and for holding it in position relatively to the coin'eyer and for yieldingzl -s restraining" its motion along the conreycr. additional means for engaging! the cover and resraining; ite motion along the conveyor and automatic 111C311: for die 11 engin the first mentioned means ano l adthtloncl means opera ire in restraining the motion o1 coYer.

41. in an apparatus of the eharaeter described. a conyeyer for delii'erina' sta ing n'ial, clamps for engaginv and lwldii a ('OTQI' to he tilted in posizion relative j to the come means :tor yieldingly restraining relative motion between the the conveyor mine; the stallingi ci imps for ene clamps and operation, a second set 01':

\J ma ns tor yie ding ly restrain- SILK;

relatire motion between the :econd of claims and the conveyor stntlinqf opera. i a

io the first mentioned clan s from cover after a pro-determined portion of the A machine for stniiing pads. compristor forcing the materia through the conreyer and into a pad cover to he staited, for holding the cover to he stuti'eo in posi ion relatively to the conveyor during;

render said holding means iDOPOl'EltlYG after a pre-detei F the c 761" has "1 lined portion been etiiitied, and addition:

()1 l. means for holding the cover in place, after the first mentioned means has been rendered inoperative.

6. A maohine for stalling; pads, conprisinn. a conveyor for delivering striding mterial, clamps for engaging and holding a aid cover has been partially staffed, 1 O

pad to he etini ed in position relatively to the eon eyer, means for r straining the. the clamps during; the stalling for '"eleasio'r them from the cover, in comhinat-ion with a second set of clamps tor the .'er and means for restrainnotion of the second set of clamps, wich is idapted to he rindered operative id mentioned clamps are disfrom the core.

' in a machine for stalling); pads, a con meane iOQilliQCl in the coin'eyer for material thereohroagh, an a pad cover to he i for resnainii f" the reltween the clamps and the with additional cwer, weights for )I: the additional disengaging the firstthe cover, and i of the last-- first-n .enti oned tailing: machine, means for pad stni'ling matcr'al, mechar restraining the relative motion he- ,ia d means and a pad cover to he i and means for renoering the mechainoperative daring a portion of the opera! a pad 1;); machine, means for llll material, mechanisms it out; iing' lie relative motion between F3 d mea j' and a pad cover to lo stutt'ed,

pad ring pad tween the first mentioned means and the wrer, after sale first mentioned mechanisms are rendered IDOPGEIH'JVQ.

ill. la a pad staffing machine, a deyice for delirerinp; pad stalling material, means opi a portion of the stniling operfoi' yieldingly restraining the relative ii'or between the device and a pad cover a e stn tied, additional means for yieldingly iainina the relative motion between the co and the cover after the first men 1 means is inopentiye and iii-ans eneans, during an; operation, for disengaging said itioned means "from the pad cover.

Cir

12. In a pad stutfing machine, a device for delivering pad stutling material, means operative during a portion of the stuifing operation for controlling the relative motion between the device and a pad cover to he stufied, additional means for controlling the relative motion between the device and the cover during the rest of the stuiiing ope -ation, and means for adjusting said additional means so that it is rendered inoperative during the operation of the first mentioned means and operative after the first mentioned means is rendered inoperative.

13. In a pad stufiing machine, a device for delivering pad stufiing material, means operative during a portion of the stufiing operation for controlling the relative motion be tween the device and a pad cover to be stuli'ed, automatic means for rendering said first mentioned means inoperative, additional means for controlling the relative on between the device and the cover during the rest of the stufiing operation, and aojusting means for said additional means for rendering it inoperative during the operation of the first mentioned means and operative after the first mentioned means is rendered inoperative.

l-l. In a pad stufiing machine, a conveyor for delivering padding material, a plunger for forcing the material through the conveyer and into a cover to be stuffed, a set of clamps for engaging an intermediate pol tion of the cover and for holding it in place relatively to the conveyor, slidahle rods upon which said clam as are mounted, means for yicldingly restraining the motion of said rods, adjustable stops carried by the rods for varying their normal positions, and stops mounted on the frame of the machine for engaging the clamps during the forward motion of the rods and for thereby actuating them to release the cover.

15. In a pad stuffing machine, a conveyor for delivering padding material, a plunger for forcing the material through the conveyer and into a cover to be stufied, a forward set of clamps for engaging an intermediate portion of a cover and for holding it in place over the conveyer, slidalole rods upon which the clamps are mounted, means for yieldingly restraining the motion of the rods, a set of rear clamps for engaging the end portion of the cover, rods upon which the rear set of clamps are mounted, means for restraining the motion of the last mentioned rods, a stop carried by each rod for controlling the normal position of its corresponding clamp, stops mounted on the frame of the machine for engaging the forward clamps and thereby releasing them from the cover during the stufiing operation, and means controlled by the forward motion of one or" said rods for stopping said plunger after the cover is stuffed.

16. In a pad stutfing machine, a conveyor for delivering pa lding material, a plunger for forcing the material through the conveyor, means for actuating said plunger, a forward set of clamps for engaging an intermediate portion of a cover to be stuffed, slidahle rods upon which said clamps are mounted, weights for restraining the motion of the rods, a rear set of clamps for engaging the end portion of the cover, rods upon which said rear set of clamps are mounted, weights for restraining the motion of the last mentioned rods, stops mounted on the frame of the machine for engaging the forward clamps during the stufling operation and for disengaging them from the cover, means for adjusting the normal positions of the weights of the rear set of clamps and for rendering them inoperative while the forward clamps are operative, and means controlled by the forward motion of one of said rods for controlling the operation of said plunger actuating means.

ARTHUR E. MOOLAIN. l Vitnesses lV. J. FULTZ, J. N. KISLING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

W'ashington, ID. 0. 

